James English Leary

Leary refers to his work in painting and installation as “Entrances and Exits,” hinting at the nature of his blank canvases that are both infiltrated and vacated by various slapstick shapes. The presentation of rectangular minimalist panels create an arena for the painted space to dart across, through, and out of the surfaces—composing their own jargon that wraps around and slinks off the walls of the room. The familiar yet indefinable forms recall human limbs, articles of clothing, cartoon toadstools, and plant-like motifs. This figuration is rendered in an illusionistic trompe-l'oeil mode of saturated hues and exaggerated proportions that work both independently and as a whole to converse within its constructed physical space.

Courtesy of Safe Gallery

Both a filmmaker as well as a visual artist, Leary's work has been included in the Whitney Biennial, Greater New York show at MoMA PS1 and the Sundance Film Festival. He has been featured in numerous art fairs and galleries internationally with his most recent solo show at Galerie Kandlhofer in Vienna in 2017.